The Tasmanian Liberal Government recognises that the private sector is critical to growing our economy and is committed to assisting Tasmanian businesses through this period and beyond.
In particular, we recognise the important role the building and construction sector has in a strong economy, which is why we allocated $10 million in the 2020-21 State Budget to establish the Building Project Support Program to bring forward stalled community or commercial projects that can help stimulate the building and construction sector and support local jobs.
In keeping with our First 100 Day Plan, I am pleased to announce that the second funding round of the Program will open for applications at 2:00pm today, taking the total program funding to $20 million.
This second round will assist in getting even more projects off the ground in a COVID-19 environment, support jobs and investment in our local economy and provide a future pipeline for the Tasmanian construction sector.
Funding will continue to be delivered through a competitive grant funding round administered through the Department of State Growth and eligible projects that were unsuccessful in the first round are able to apply in the second round.
During the election, we committed to increasing the Program by $10 million to get even more stalled and shovel-ready projects off the ground, following the closure of the first round on 14 May 2021.
I am pleased to advise that 64 applications were received for Round One of this program and assessed by an independent panel.
Last Friday, I announced twelve local projects worth $50 million will proceed with help from our Building Projects Support Program that forms part of our COVID-19 economic recovery plan.
Program guidelines included community and social benefits criteria to make sure that these projects deliver real on-ground benefits for Tasmanians.
Guidelines and application information will be available on the State Growth website from 2:00pm today, with applications to close on 6 October.